How to Help Reduce Sexual Harassment on Campus

Reducing Sexual Harassment on Campus

Title IX protects students from sex discrimination—which includes sexual violence. But did you know that Title IX also protects students from sexual harassment?

According to the National Women’s Law Center, Title IX states that schools must protect students from sexual harassment: unwelcome verbal or physical conduct based on sex that makes students uncomfortable and prevents them from learning. The law bans sexual harassment by teachers, staff, fellow students, and visitors on school premises.

To help you reduce sexual harassment on your campus, we are going to answer the following questions:

How often do students experience sexual harassment?

What are some examples of sexual harassment?

How can schools reduce sexual harassment?

Prevalence of Sexual Harassment on Campus

In January, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) released the final results of its nine-school pilot test, which was conducted to help develop a campus climate survey. And while the majority of the report focused on preventing sexual violence, the report did touch on the prevalence of sexual harassment concluding that on average 28 percent of females and 13.2 percent of males experienced sexual harassment.

13.9 percent had sexual photos, videos or rumors about them were shared

15.4 percent were flashed by someone

4.6 percent were watched or had photos or videos taken of them while nude

To reduce instances of sexual harassment, higher education campuses can teach students about bystander intervention.

Preventing Sexual Harassment with Bystander Intervention

The majority of the time, people don’t do anything when they witness sexual harassment because they are afraid or because they assume someone else will do something—also known as the bystander effect.

But to prevent sexual harassment, students need to know how to safely intervene. Bystander intervention training teaches students what to do when they witness sexual violence—and sexual harassment. The training informs students there are many different ways to intervene including:

When they hear a friend telling a sexist joke, they can explain why it’s not okay.

If they see someone is being touched against their will, they can report the incident to the school authorities.

If they receive a sexually suggestive picture, they can delete it instead of sharing it.

They can refuse to participate in gossip surrounding other students’ sex-lives and sexual orientation.

They can support friends or classmates that have been sexually harassed by listening to their stories.

Bystander intervention training complements your existing anti-harassment policies and shows that there are ways for students to take action against sexual harassment.

Conclusion

Research shows that a large percentage of students have experienced sexual harassment—which comes in many different forms. To help prevent sexual harassment on campus, students can learn about bystander intervention.